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Pulse News Mini for iPhone - App Review

Pulse News Mini for iPhone is one of the newer RSS clients to appear in the App Store. I happened to catch it in the featured section of the App Store and figured I'd give it a try. Up until now, I've been a faithful fan of the Reeder client for iPhone. I'm starting to think that Pulse News Mini could definitely give it a run for it's money.

4th of July App Store sales - EA, Gameloft, Namco, Glu

In celebration of the US 4th of July holiday, there are a bunch of sales going on in the iTunes Apps Store, including EA, Gameloft, Glu, Namco, and more.

Aside from games, if you have a few moments to spend browsing through Apple's hundreds of thousands of apps, you might just find a quite a few others taking advantage of the holiday to drum up some sales.

Check out the links below for some great game lists. Any of your favorites super cheap today? Let us know in comments!

Griffin FlexGrip for iPad- accessory review

This week I had a chance to look at the black FlexGrip case for the iPad by Griffin, available in black, blue, purple and white. The FlexGrip manages to protect and look good. It's made from silicon, but the slick kind. The case it self is not slippery, but rather it does not stick to surfaces. This is good if you place your iPad in a bag and want to access it easily but bad if you want it to grip on a surface.

I used the case for a couple of weeks putting it in and out of my backpack, laid it on tables, watched content on it, etc. The only issue I had with the case is that the edge flashings do not grip the iPad's glass tightly. This is an issue for me as I seem to collect lint where ever I go. I found myself having to occasionally clean out the lint particles. Also, it is important to note that if you use the iPad dock like I do, it does not fit in the dock with the case on.

Ultimately I liked Griffin FlexGrip for iPad. Just be aware of the looser flashings and that it is the slip not sticky silicone.

If you're enjoying the 4th of July holiday in the US, or have a way to keep yourself safe at work outside the US, give these dueling videos a look and enjoy the good-natured iPhone and Android rivalry gone horribly wrong.

(And yeah, the guy who made them works at Best Buy mobile, never mentioned Best Buy in the videos, and still might get fired by the humorless big box -- who should be falling all over themselves offering him a job in their creative department.)

Tired of waiting for a white iPhone 4? Do it yourself!

While manufacturing problems have reportedly caused delays in Apple's own white iPhone 4 rollout, enterprising do-it-yourself (DIY) types, armed with tear-down guides and replacement parts from China are taking matters into their own hands.

Richard Lai from Engadget gave it a go, and while there are definitely some gotchas, who expects fashion to come without a price?

+ equals universal iPhone/iPad app in App Store

If you see a + sign next to or below an app in the iTunes App Store, it indicates that app is universal -- designed to work natively on both the iPhone and iPad.

Typically these universal apps are provided by developers when the functionality is similar on both iPad and iPhone, but due to the iPad's large screen a different interface is needed (to include sidebars, popovers, and wide views instead of deep levels).

It also means you only have to download -- and pay for -- the app once.

iOS 4 features: SMS/MMS failure exclamation badge

iOS 4 will now put an exclamation badge on the Messages app as a way to inform you when an SMS text or MMS multimedia message fails to send.

Previously, the exclamation badge was only present inside the Messages app itself, beside the message that failed to send. Unless you were there and checking, you might not see it, especially not right away.

Now, if and when there's been a failure to send, as long as you pass by the Messages icon on your home screen, there's a good chance you'll see it.

Air Display for iPad- app review

This week I am taking a look at Air Display by Avatron Software. You may have heard of Avatron as they make the great Air Sharing apps for iPhone and iPad. This app works like an external display for your Mac desktop or laptop (good news PC owners, it will work on a PC soon!).

iPhone 3GS Review (2010)

Yes, we're really reviewing the iPhone 3GS 8GB, Apple's other huge smartphone release for 2010. It went on sale the same day as iPhone 4, in many more countries around the world than iPhone 4 did, and importantly -- in the US it's now $99 on AT&T contract.

Let that sink in for a moment. A couple weeks ago iPhone 3GS was still one of the best smartphones on the market. Since making it's debut in June 2009 (when we reviewed the original), it's stood the test of time against the Palm Pre, BlackBerry Storm 2, Motorola Droid, Google Nexus One, Palm Pre Plus, HTC Droid Incredible, and Evo 4G. Sure, other phones began pulling ahead in terms of raw specs and feature sets, but iPhone 3GS maintained its edge through a combination of overall elegance, usability, and ecosystem.

The only other thing that's changed between then and now -- aside from the price drop and reduction of storage that came with it is -- the arrival of iPhone 4.

For many people who want an iPhone, iPhone 4 will be the easy choice. But just like last year when Apple dropped the iPhone 3G to $99, it's not the only choice.

Total cost of ownership (TCO -- what you pay including the phone and the carrier contract) be damned, some people want a budget smartphone. Some people want to walk into the store, drop not a penny more than $99, and walk out with an iPhone. This year, those people can do just that and what they're leaving with is not only an iPhone 3GS, but an iPhone 3GS running iOS 4.

UPDATED: iTunes accounts being hacked, used to cheat App Store?

It looks like there's been a sharp rise in iTunes accounts being hacked. We don't have any solid information on this yet, but when it comes to security TiPb believes in warning first, worrying about the details later. Engadget points to a link between the hacks and the rise in popularity of some Vietnamese book apps. Sounds crazy, but it's absolutely not funny:

iPad at Work: Elementary school teacher

How does an elementary school teacher use her iPad to get the job done and what iPad apps help get her through her day? TiPb’s iPad at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPad life. Here’s Courtfrogger's answer and as a small token of thanks we’re sending her a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPad Forum and share your story now!

The iPad has added another dimension to my classroom! I teach music, English and theatre at a very small public k-12 school. I use the iPad for lots of different things in the classroom, at meetings and at play rehearsals. For my youngest students, who sometimes just need to dance, I use Pandora. I can just type in "Tito Puente", for example, and get unlimited Latin jazz that keeps them moving and very happy.

Frash: Android Flash ported to iPad

Frash is an effort to take Android's Flash implementation and get it working on an iPad, Jailbreak style. Brought to you by comex, the mind behind the Spirit Jailbreak, it follows up on his efforts to get Flash up on iPhone and iPod touch. How's it look? Check the video after the break.

Frash is a port of the Adobe Flash runtime for Android to the iPhone, using a compatibility layer, by comex ( http://twitter.com/comex ). Frash can currently run most Flash programs natively in the MobileSafari browser. Frash currently only runs on the iPad, but support for other devices (3GS+ only due to technical restrictions) is planned, as well as support for iOS 4.

A release is planned for when Frash is stable. Developers are welcome to join the effort at http://github.com/comex/frash – fork it and send a pull request with your patches.

SteamBalls HD for iPad - app review

SteamBalls HD is a match-3 puzzle game for the iPad. It's fun, challenging, unique, and beautifully designed.

The goal of SteamBalls HD is to get a horizontal match of 3 balls of the same color, but it's more difficult than it sounds. At the bottom of the game board there are 4 scales and each ball is assigned a weight. The side of a scale that is heaviest will drop to the bottom; if the weights are equal, then the arms of the scale will be level. Underneath each arm, the current weight is displayed to save you from doing the addition in your head. As you progress through the game, new colors are introduced making it more difficult to get a match. The game ends when any column of balls reaches the top of the board.

FarmVille for iPhone - app review

FarmVille is a widely popular real-time farm simulation game created by Zynga. It was originally created as a flash game for Facebook and eventually became available at farmville.com. Players can now farm on go with the most recent version of FarmVille on the iPhone.